


picture it soft, and I ache

by drunkspacearchivist



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: First Kiss, Love Confessions, M/M, No beta we kayak like Tim, Pre-The Unknowing (The Magnus Archives), Sad(ish) Ending, Sharing a Bed, Snake Game, Soft Boys, references to alchohol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:33:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25703647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drunkspacearchivist/pseuds/drunkspacearchivist
Summary: Martin always hated parties. They were always too loud, and any friends he might have gone with often left him for someone more interesting.Or, there's a party before the Unknowing, and Jon and Martin finally get a chance to talk.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 3
Kudos: 99





	picture it soft, and I ache

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little drabble that's been bouncing around in my brain for a while. Title is from Strawberry Blond by Mitski. Comments and kudos are always appreciated!

Martin always hated parties. They were always too loud, and any friends he might have gone with often left him for someone more interesting.

This party really wasn’t any different. Well, everything about it was different because they were in the Archives and half of the guests would be leaving tomorrow to go and stop the Unknowing. This party wasn’t any different because the beer was cheap and the music was horrible. This party wasn’t different because no one wanted him to be there. Not that they had actually asked him not to come, but… he felt it in his bones. Basira and Melanie didn’t like him, and Daisy _definitely_ didn’t like him. Tim might have liked him at one point, but Tim didn’t like anyone these days. And Jon…

Jon was complicated. Well, more complicated than usual. Sometimes he treated Martin with the quiet distaste Martin had gotten used to. And then sometimes he would speak so softly, stare at him so intensely. Sometimes, at inappropriate moments, Martin would remember the face Jon made when he found out Martin was recording statements. Or the face Jon made when he saw Martin again after going into hiding, with his hand badly bandaged and blood trailing down his neck. Or the face Jon made when Martin jokingly offered to come to America with him.

Jon was changing, Martin knew. Not just as a person, but as a not-person. As an all-knowing being, like Elias. But not like Elias, because Elias was horrible, and Jon was…

But wasn’t Jon just as horrible to Martin? No one else seemed to have any qualms with calling Jon a monster. So why did Martin? Why was he so loyal to someone who really didn’t care about him?

Jon wasn’t even at the party. Why was Martin sitting in the corner, worrying about Jon, instead of trying to enjoy himself or at least trying to say goodbye to the people he’d probably never see again?

The music was too loud. Martin needed a minute. He didn’t feel like climbing the stairs, and someone was likely to notice him leaving the Archives entirely. So instead, he went into Jon’s office and shut the door behind him. He sat against the door, and took a deep breath.

“Enjoying yourself?” Jon asked. 

Martin nearly jumped out of his skin. “Jon! Jesus Christ, I thought you left!”

Jon was sitting in the far corner of his office, with his laptop on his lap. “I was going to. Now I’m just trying to figure out if I can sneak out without anyone noticing.”

“Probably not. Daisy’s been circling the room like a- Wait a minute, are you working? _Now_?”

“Ah,” Jon said, sounding a little ashamed to have been caught. “No. Actually, I’m playing the Snake Game.”

He rotated his laptop, and sure enough.

“Well, that’s… something to do, at least,” Martin said. 

Jon buried his face in his hands. “God, I’m tired.”

“You should go home,” Martin suggested. “Get some sleep.”

Jon shook his head, and shut his laptop. “Martin, I… I listened to your tape.”

Martin felt his face turning red. “O-oh?”

Jon nodded. He stood up and crossed the room, sitting back down next to Martin. “Glad you’re not turning into some kind of spider person.”

Martin wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, or to the fact that Jon was currently closer than he had ever been before.

“It does… I mean… Can I ask you a question?” Jon asked.

“Er, yeah? I guess?” Martin said, somehow turning redder.

“Do you… do you fancy me, Martin?”

“Yes? Really, I think I might be falling in love with you,” Martin said without thinking. The realization of what he said hit him, and he might as well have died on the spot. “Oh God, Jon, I don’t know what, I’m sorry, why, I mean, I don’t, I’ll just, I’ll go.”

Martin stood up, utterly mortified. Jon jumped up too, looking like a kicked puppy.

“You don’t have to leave,” Jon said.

“No, it’s fine, I’m sorry, I should just-” 

Jon grabbed Martin by his collar, and pulled him down into a kiss. It was harsh, and messy, and angry.

“I want… I would like you to stay. Please,” Jon said. And Martin couldn’t say no.

Jon woke up in Martin’s arms, and god what a sensation. This was the kind of thing he could get used to. The two of them hadn’t fallen asleep like that, and hadn’t even meant to fall asleep. They had both been sitting on the cot Jon kept in his office, talking about everything and nothing, and at one point they laid down, and at one point they had fallen asleep.

Basira cleared her throat. She had been standing in the doorway for an awkward amount of time already, and Jon really needed to leave. He looked at Martin, still sleeping, and felt himself melting. He placed a soft kiss to Martin’s forehead, and slipped away, following Basira out of the room.

It might have been rude to leave without saying goodbye, but they could talk after The Unknowing. Everything would be okay.

Right?


End file.
